The invention relates to an inhalator component for the intermittent formation, synchronous with inhalation or drawing, of a vapor-air mixture or/and condensation aerosol, comprising:
a housing;
a chamber arranged in the housing;
an air admission opening for the supply of air from the surroundings to the chamber;
an electric heating element for evaporating a portion of a liquid material, wherein the vapor which is formed is mixed in the chamber with the air supplied through the air admission opening, and the vapor-air mixture or/and condensation aerosol is formed;
and a wick with a capillary structure, which wick forms a composite with the heating element and automatically resupplies the heating element with the liquid material following evaporation.
The invention concerns inhalators which permit intermittent operation synchronous with inhalation or drawing. An operating mode of this type is present if the liquid material is heated and evaporated only during drawing or during inhalation. The heating element is largely deactivated in intervals between two drawings or inhalations. The heating element is activated or energized generally right at the beginning of drawing or inhalation, either manually, for example by means of a switch, but preferably automatically via a suitable sensor and an electronic switching circuit. In the latter case, inhalation—or drawing-activated operation of the inhalator is also referred to.
In the present patent application, the term “inhalator” refers to medicinal and nonmedicinal inhalators. The term furthermore refers to inhalators for administering drugs and substances which are not declared as drugs. The term also refers to smoking articles and cigarette replacement articles, as contained, for example, in European patent class A24F47/00B, in so far as said articles are intended to administer the vapor-air mixture or/and condensation aerosol to the user. The term “inhalator” is also not intended to impose any restrictions on how the vapor-air mixture formed or/and condensation aerosol is supplied to the user or to the user's body. The vapor-air mixture or/and condensation aerosol may be inhaled into the lungs or else also only supplied to the mouth cavity—without inhalation into the lungs. Finally, the term “inhalator” includes both apparatuses which permit direct inhalation into the lungs in a single step (“classic inhalators”) and apparatuses which—as in the case of a cigarette—require at least two steps, namely first of all drawing into the mouth cavity (drawing volume: approx. 20-80 mL) and—after putting the inhalator down—a following inhalation into the lungs (“drawing inhalators”). In comparison to drawing inhalators, classic inhalators have a significantly higher air throughput through the inhalator: approx. 100-750 mL/s in comparison to 10-40 mL/s. By contrast, drawing inhalators generally have a significantly higher flow resistance or drawing resistance than classic inhalators.